Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Date: 11-22-98

Sermon Number: Luke 128

Text: Luke 19:11-27

INVESTING OUR MINAS

As we continue our study in Luke nineteen we recall that Jesus is still at the home of Zaccheus the tax-collector. Christ's disciples are also present along with part of the great crowd that had been following our Lord. Jesus has just heard the promise of the newly converted Zaccheus to restore more than he had previously stolen from the citizens of Jericho. He has also answered those who objected to His association with sinners. His reply to them was as follows. (Luke 19:10 NASB) "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." In another place He put it this way (Luke 5:32 NASB) {32} "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Jesus came to save His people from their sin. Praise God for His infinite mercy!

The words that we study today are in the form of a parable and are meant to answer an unspoken question. "When will Christ establish His earthly Kingdom?" Lets begin our reading in Luke 19:11. "And while they were listening to these things, He went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they, (His disciples) supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately."

In other words, the disciples thought that Jesus was about to begin His reign and overthrow of the Roman government. They were looking for a physical kingdom to begin right then. This parable is intended to correct such thinking. But this is not the only lesson taught, there are three. The first has to do with Christ's earthly kingdom and when it will begin. Secondly, the parable speaks to those who are Christian about the stewardship that has been given to each of us. The third lesson has to do with what will happen to all who reject our Lord's kingship.

The characters in the parable are easy to identify. The Nobleman, verse twelve, is Jesus. The faithful slaves, verses sixteen and eighteen, are His believing brothers and sisters. The slave in verse twenty is a hypocrite. The rebels of verse fourteen are unbelievers in every age.

Let's consider the content of the parable. {12} "He said therefore, "A certain nobleman (Jesus) went to a distant country (heaven) to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return."

This verse speaks of two glorious events in our Lord's life. First, it refers to His ascension to the Father. "He was going to a distant country." Jesus was not about to set up a physical kingdom. Rather, He was returning to His former glory at the right hand of God. The disciples never really grasp this until it occurred. Some of them actually got to witness His departure to that "distant country" with their own eyes.

(Acts 1:6-11 NASB) {6} And so when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" (Are you about to set up your physical kingdom?) {7} He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; {8} but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Jesus, in essence, said, "No I am not setting up an earthly kingdom now. The time for that is known only by the Father. Before that happens there is much work to do. Between now and then you will take the Gospel to the remotest part of the earth.) {9} And after He had said these things, HE WAS LIFTED UP WHILE THEY WERE LOOKING ON, AND A CLOUD RECEIVED HIM OUT OF THEIR SIGHT. {10} And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; {11} and they also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been TAKEN UP FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN, (The far away country.) will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." Jesus will return!

The phrase in our present text refers both to the ascension of our Lord into heaven and to His glorious return. So the answer to the question in everyone's mind was. "No, I am not about to set up my kingdom on earth. Rather, I am about to ascend to my Father in heaven. The fact that He was going away to a "distant country" implies an extended period of time between His departure and His return. While He is gone there is something He wants His disciples and us to do. Lets continue to read in Luke nineteen and verse thirteen.

{13} "And he called ten of his slaves, (These slaves represent all believers in Christ. We are all bond-servants of Jesus and glad to be so.) and gave them ten minas, (This was a sum of money equal to 100 days pay. This man's servants were made stewards of this money on the master's behalf.) and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.' The idea of doing business implies seeking the profit and advancement of the master's business with the resources He has given you.

This gift of minas corresponds to our spiritual gifts, talents, and privileges. We Christians are to do business on behalf of our Master while He is away. We are to use our gifts and talents to spread the Gospel with the harvesting of souls in mind. We are to use them in ministry to the brethren for the building up of the body in love. In other words, we have been entrusted with gifts which must be invested in an interest earning account. So that when our Master comes again we can present Him with the glorious return. Let's look at a few scriptures on the subject of using our gifts or, if you please, investing our minas.

(Romans 12:4-8 NASB) "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members DO NOT HAVE THE SAME FUNCTION, (place, job, responsibility, duty, gifts, talents) {5} so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. {6} And since WE HAVE GIFTS that DIFFER ACCORDING TO THE GRACE GIVEN TO US, let each EXERCISE them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; {7} if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; {8} or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."

(1 Corinthians 12:1-11 NASB) "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. . . {4} Now there are VARIETIES OF GIFTS, but the same Spirit. {5} And there are VARIETIES OF MINISTRIES, and the same Lord. {6} And there are VARIETIES OF EFFECTS, but the same God who works all things in all persons. {7} BUT TO EACH ONE IS GIVEN THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT FOR THE COMMON GOOD. (Every Christian is given this "manifestation of the Spirit." That is, he or she is given a gift or gifts that must be used, diligently, for the common good of the whole body of Christ.). . . {11} But one and the same Spirit works all these things, DISTRIBUTING TO EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY JUST AS HE WILLS." The gifts that God gives to His children for the common good of the church are chosen and given, "As He wills." In other words, I have the gift or gifts that God has wisely chosen to give me and you have the ones He has thought it wise to give you. They are all given with the common good of the whole body of Christ in mind. Which tells us that we must use them faithfully in the service of the brethren. Consider also the words of 1 Peter 4:7-11 NASB.

"The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. {8} Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. {9} Be hospitable to one another without complaint. {10} AS EACH ONE HAS RECEIVED A SPECIAL GIFT, EMPLOY IT IN SERVING ONE ANOTHER, AS GOOD STEWARDS OF THE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD. (The phrase, "Manifold grace of God," speaks of the many different gifts and talents that God bestows on His children.) {11} Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO WHOM BELONGS THE GLORY AND DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN." We are all gifted for the common good of the body of Christ. But the primary goal of all that we do must be the glory of God.

Our Master has gone away to a distant country. But before He left He instructed us to invest our minas, to use our gifts and privileges in a profitable way. We cannot say, as some have, that we have nothing to invest, nothing with which to serve the Master's cause. For God has equipped us all with gifts of His own choosing and with these He calls us into service. The question is, "How are you investing yourself?" What are you doing with your life, your money, your gifts, your skill, and talents? Beloved, the Lord of glory, who made you a steward of all that you are and have, is about to return. When He does you and I will be called to account for how we have invested our minas. Hear the word of the Lord once again.

{Luke 19:15} "And it came about that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done. {16} "And the first appeared, saying, 'Master, YOUR MINA HAS MADE TEN MINAS MORE.' {17} "And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.' {18} "And the second came, saying, 'YOUR MINA, MASTER, HAS MADE FIVE MINAS.' {19} "And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

Verse seventeen contains the answer to a very important question. "What must I do to be worthy of the Masters commendation?" The answer is, "Be faithful." Be faithful in doing what God has equipped you to do. Let me speak of myself for a moment. I am a teacher of the scriptures. I haven't the greatest measure of grace that God bestows on teachers of His word but I have the measure He chose to give me. I must be faithful to my calling for life and then I shall receive the reward. I am a father. I am not the greatest father, or the wisest, but I must father my children to the best of my abilities till the Lord returns to judge my performance. Then I shall receive my reward. I am a husband. I am not the greatest husband but I must be the best husband I know how to be by the grace given to me. I have been entrusted with the physical and spiritual well being of my wife and I best take that job seriously. I must be faithful. My Master, my Lord, my Savior and God, is coming again and He will call me to account.

What about you? All that you are is the result of God's grace to you. Your intelligence, your talents, your gifts, your money, your material possessions, have been given to you by the God who saved you. Which God will hold you accountable for how you invest yourself and use your possessions. You must be faithful to His cause and purpose for your life. You must be faithful year, after year, after year, until you breath your last. Then you will receive your reward.

There are some who will bear MUCH fruit for their efforts. Then there are some who, for the same amount of work, will bear LESS fruit. Both will be rewarded accordingly for both have been faithfully devoted to the love of God and neighbor. Both have been about their Father's business. The Bible tells us that it is certain that all of God's children will bear fruit to one degree or the other. All those who are truly saved will grow in grace, knowledge, and holiness of life. All true Christians will serve the brethren and the unbeliever in one way or the other. All true Christians are evangelists by virtue of their existence, if for no other reason. These will be rewarded for their work.

But then there are those who profess Christ and are not truly saved. These appear to have been servants of the Master but in the end all will see they were not true servants. In the end the honor, the reward, that might have been theirs will be given to another. In the judgement the real and the fake will be identified for all to see. In the end men will make many excuses but to no avail. Hear the word of the Lord.

{20} "And another came, saying, 'Master, BEHOLD YOUR MINA, WHICH I KEPT PUT AWAY IN A HANDKERCHIEF; {21} for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' {22} "He said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? {23} 'Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?' {24} "And he said to the bystanders, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.' {25} "And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas already.' {26} "I tell you, that to everyone who has (and uses his gifts and talents for the Lord) shall more be given, but from the one who does not have, (does not possess or use his gifts, talents, and possessions, for the Lord) even what he does have shall be taken away."

Get this straight in your minds once and for all. "Faith without works is dead." In other words, one can talk of their faith all day long but if that faith has not produced a change in word, deed, and motivation, it is not saving faith. Works do not save but they do give evidence that one has been saved. True believers will serve the Lord with what they have been given. Their gifts may be great and easy to see or they may be hard to discover. Nevertheless they are present in every Christian and will be used in the service of the King.

We are all heading for the judgement ladies and gentlemen. The unbelieving are headed for the fearful judgement of damnation while we who are Christian are headed for a judgement of the works we have performed since the moment of our salvation. It is a judgement of rewards. Consider the words of 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NASB. "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it. {11} For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (The foundation spoken of is faith in Christ for salvation. Once a person is saved he begins to build his Christian life. The following words have to do with whether he does a good job or not.) {12} Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, {13} each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. (The fire spoken of is the judgement of God.) {14} If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, (can pass through the judgement without being consumed) he shall receive a reward. {15} If any man's work is burned up, (judged inappropriate) he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."

Here we are told that the judgement day will test the quality of the Christian's life. What material have you used to build your life since the day Christ saved you? Have you built with the material of faithful, godly, righteous, selfless, Biblical, service to toward God and man? Have you had the glory of God in your eye as you have made decisions and intermingled with people? This is the stuff that will pass through the heat of judgement. This is the kind of work that will remain and be rewarded. However, if you have built on the foundation of faith in Christ with selfishness, laziness, bitterness, disobedience, and luke-warmness you will not have a reward. You will not loose your salvation but you will forfeit your reward. You will suffer loss and be saved, yet so as through fire.

I spoke of the last man in our Luke text as if he were not a Christian at all. Here the man without a reward is said to be saved. Why the opposing descriptions? In reality they do not oppose one another. In the first place the servant entrusted with the minas to invest was not a true servant. This was proven by his lack of interest in His Master's prosperity and kingdom. In the second place we have, at best, a lazy Christian who always lets someone else do what must be done. This one is not generous in his giving to the Lord's work. He has little time for service, or work days, or worship, or for helping those in need. He has little concern for the lost or the Pastor or his brothers and sisters. He is not especially wicked and does not deny our Lord. Nor is he obviously righteous and bold for God. This man will receive no reward from His father. Very often he will doubt his salvation for there is little evidence in his life which testifies of his faith. The man in our Luke text and the one in the Corinthian text are often very hard to distinguish. Let us be sure we do not walk even one day in either man's shoes.

Let me read a brief but good article on the subject of rewards.

"There will be different degrees of blessedness and reward in heaven. All will be blessed up to the limit of what they can receive, but capacities will vary just as they do in this world. As for rewards (an area in which present irresponsibility can bring permanent future loss: 1 Cor. 3:10-15, see above), two points must be grasped. The first is that when God rewards our works he is crowning his own gifts, for it was only by grace that those works were done. The second is that the essence of the reward in each case will be more of what the Christian desires most, namely, a deepening of his or her love-relationship with the Savior, which is the reality to which all the biblical imagery of honorific crowns and robes and feasts is pointing. The reward is parallel to the reward of courtship, which is the enriching of the love-relationship itself through marriage." (END QUOTE) Christians can look forward to this most blessed reward when their work on earth is done.

So far we have looked at the faithful who will be rewarded. We have seen the negligent believer who will just be saved. We have seen the end and fate of the hypocrite. Now we must consider what Jesus said about those who hate Him openly and outright. We find His comments in verses fourteen and twenty-seven.

{14} "But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' {27} "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."

There is a message here for all men. For the unbelieving and the hypocrite there is a warning. If you will not have Christ rule over you as King and Savior you will face Him as a condemning judge. Your reward will be the second death from which there is no redemption. For the faithful there is encouragement. Your works have not gone unnoticed. God will reward your faithful service. We have been left with a stewardship brothers and sisters. Let us invest our minas so that they do something for the improvement and advancement of the kingdom of God. Let us spend all that we have on loving God and our neighbor.. Then let us look forward to the promised reward.

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